Invalid bed

ABSTRACT

A bed for a bed-ridden person has head, foot and intermediate mattress-carrying sections supported end-to-end on a main frame. The sections are supported by a system of levers, pivots and rollers, which enables the head section to be inclined upwards in any one of a number of angular positions and simultaneously causes the intermediate and foot sections to be moved in a direction towards the foot of the bed, the intermediate section to take up a position slightly inclined in the opposite sense to the head section, and the foot section to be lowered in height, whilst maintaining an overall smooth profile of the upper surface of mattress portions carried by the sections. The intermediate section is divided on the centre-line of the bed and enables a gap to be opened up between its two parts, the gap being central or to either side of the centre-line of the bed as desired.

United States Patent [1 1 Yates et al.

[ INVALID BED [75] Inventors: Michael Joseph Yates, Margate;

Kenneth James Hurst, Folkestone, both of England [73] Assignee: PioneerWelding Company Limited,

Kent, England [22] Filed: Jan. 28, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 437,220

[ June 10, 1975 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Wenderoth, Lind & Ponack [57]ABSTRACT A bed for a bed-ridden person has head, foot and intermediatemattress-carrying sections supported and to-end on a main frame. Thesections are supported by a system of levers, pivots and rollers, whichenables the head section to be inclined upwards in any one of a numberof angular positions and simultaneously causes the intermediate and footsections to be moved in a direction towards the foot of the bed, theintermediate section to take up a position slightly inclined in theopposite sense to the head section, and the foot section to be loweredin height, whilst maintaining an overall smooth profile of the uppersurface of mattress portions carried by the sections. The intermediatesection is divided on the centre-line of the bed and enables a gap to beopened up between its two parts, the gap being central or to either sideof the centre-line of the bed as desired.

5 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure INVALID BED SUMMARY OF THE INVENT iON Thisinvention relates to beds and more particularly to beds intended forbed-ridden persons.

According to this invention there is provided a bed comprising a mainframe, first, second and third mattress section supports mountedend-to-end on the main frame, the first support having its end nearerthe second support pivotally mounted on the main frame and providing alengthwise extending guideway, a second guideway extending lengthwise ofthe frame and disposed beneath the third support, a guide elementengaged in the second guideway, a first lever providing three pivotpoints arranged in the form of a triangle, such lever being pivotallymounted on the frame by one of the pivot points and having at a secondof the pivot points a guide element engaged in the guideway, a secondlever providing three pivot points arranged in the form of a trianglewhich pivot points are respectively connected to the end of the thirdsupport nearer the second support, to the third of the pivot points ofthe first lever at a location adjacent the end of the first supportnearer the second support, and to the guide element which is engaged inthe second guideway, a connection between the frame and a location onthe third support spaced away from the end thereof which connectionoperates to lower the other end of the third section on movement of thethird section lengthwise of the bed in a direction away from the secondsection, the second mattress section support being connected to thesecond lever, and means for locating the first mattress support inselected positions about its pivotal mounting on the main frame.

According to a preferred feature of the invention, the second supportcomprises a base member which is connected to the second lever, a pairof sub-frames which are mounted side by side on the base member andwhich are movable laterally towards and away from each other into anyone of at least three positions, whereby the sub-frame can be positionedto form a gap between them in any one of three positions transversely ofthe bed, and means for locating each of the subframes in each of itsthree positions.

Preferably the connection comprises an inclined third guideway and anelement movable along the guideway, which inclined guideway and elementare connected one to the frame and the other to the third support at theabove mentioned location.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING One embodiment of the invention willnow be described by way of example with reference to the accompanyingdrawing showing a side elevation of a bed according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the drawing, the bedhas a horizontally extending main frame carried on castor wheels 11. Themattress is formed in four sections l2, l3, 14, of which sections 12 and15 are mounted on respective frame supports 16 and 17, sections 13 and14 being mounted side by side on an intermediate frame support 18 whichis shorter than the supports 16 and 17.

Frame support 16 is disposed at the head end of the bed and is pivotallymounted at its end adjacent support 18 on two uprights 19 which arerigidly secured to the main frame. The head end of support 16 can thusbe raised and lowered about these pivots. In its horizontal position thesupport rests on a cross-bar 20a attached to twin uprights 20 which formpart of the main frame.

Adjacent the foot of each of the uprights 19, a triangular plate 21 ispivotally mounted on the main frame and has an arm 22 rigidly connectedto it. At its outer end the arm carries a roller 23 which engages in ahorizontal inwardly-facing channel 16a formed in the adjacent sidemember of support 16. The triangular plate 21 and arm 22 togetherconstitute a bell crank lever of which the other arm is pivotallyconnected to one end of an arm 24. The other end of arm 24 is rigidlyconnected to a member 25 intermediate the ends of the latter. The upperend of member 25 is pivotally connected at 26 to the head end of supportmember 17. The lower end of member 25 carries a roller 27 which engagesin a horizontal guideway 28 provided by the main frame. Arm 24 andmember 25 thus constitute a second bell crank lever which carries thehead end of support 17 above the main frame.

An L-shaped arm member 30 is pivotally connected at one end to the arm22 intermediate the ends of the latter and carries at its other end aroller 31 which is engaged in an inwardly-facing guide channel 32provided by the main frame. These other ends of the arm members 30 canbe fixed in any one of a series of positions spaced along the main frameto fix the frame support 16 in corresponding angular positions. Forthispurpose, the arm members 30 are interconnected by a horizontalcross-member 300 which has a U-shaped plate 30b se cured to it at itsmidlength. A metal strip 300 having one of its ends clamped to the mainframe by a bolt 30d and spring 30e extends through the aperture formedby plate 30b and has a series of notches 30f in its edges which notchesare engageable with an inner edge of the plate. An angle piece 33attached to strip 30c has an aperture by means of which a rod 33a issecured by one end to the angle piece. The other end of the rod is attached to a foot lever (not shown) at one side of the main frame. Thelever is pivotally mounted on the frame, and a spring disposed between awasher on the rod and the main frame urges the metal strip 300 laterallyin a sense to hold the notches in engagement with the U-shaped plate30b. Pressure of the foot on the lever pulls the strip laterally todisengage the notch and to allow the inclination of the frame support 16to be altered. When the head end of support 16 is raised, the member 30is drawn along by the arm 22, and the support can be held in a raisedposition by allowing the appropriate notch in strip 300 to engage theedge of plate 30b. A tension spring 35 interconnects the lower ends ofthe arm 22 and member 30 and tends to draw the member 30 leftwards topivot the support 16 into an upright position, thus reducing thephysical efiort necessary to raise the support 16.

The frame support 17 provides an inwardly facing guide channel 37 whichincludes a horizontal section 38 and a downwardly-inclined section 39.An upright member 40 secured to the main frame has at its upper end aguide roller which engages in the guide channel 37.

It will be understood that a similar arrangement of the uprights, leversand guides is provided symmetrically at the other side of the bed.

The two arms 24 carry spaced parallel transverse members 42 which formpart of the intermediate frame support 18. Members 42 provide transverseguide channels in which are engaged nylon rollers 43 secured to andsupporting the inner ends of two sub-frames 44 which are disposed sideby side and which abut on the longitudinal centre-line of the bed. Thetwo sub-frames 44 respectively carry the two mattress sections 13 and14. The outer ends of the two sub-frames, i.e. their ends further fromeach other, each have a frame member carrying a downwardly projectingpin 45 which is engageable in one or other of three holes formed in theframe support 18 and spaced apart transversely of the bed. By this meansthe two sub-frames can abut on the centre-line of the bed, or a gap canbe provided between then either on the centre-line or on either side ofthe centre-line. A platform (not shown) for supporting a bed-pan restson the bed but is sufficiently wide to support the bed-pan wherever thegap between subframes is formed.

When the head end of the frame support 16 is raised as previouslydescribed, the engagement of roller 23 in the guideway 16a rotates theplate 21 and arm 22 anticlockwise, thus moving leftwards and rotatingclockwise the bell crank lever constituted by arm 24 and member 25. Therotation lowers pivot point 26 and hence the right hand end of framesupport 17, and the leftward movement of the frame support causes theleft hand end of the support 17 also to be lowered because of theengagement of the roller on upright 40 in the inclined section 39 ofguideway 37. The leftward and rotational movement of arm 24 causes thesub-frames 44 and mattress sections 13 and 14 to move leftward and dipto the right to remain close to and generally in alignment with themattress 15. The leftward movement of mattress sections 13 and 14 andtheir dipping to the right causes their upper edges adjoining themattress section 12 to remain in substantially a constant positionrelative to the adjacent edge of the section 12 during the raising ofmattress section 12.

The intermediate frame support 18 includes a platform underlying theposition at which a gap can be formed between the mattress sections 13and 14, which platform is for supporting a bed pan or other toiletreceptacle. Thus it will be understood that a patient can be rolled orrocked a little to one side to enable one sub-frame 44 to be shiftedaway from the other subframe and can then be rolled or rocked a littleto the other side to enable the other sub'frame to be shifted and thereceptacle to be inserted in the gap. There is therefore no necessity tolift the patient. If the patient happens to be lying or sittingnon-centrally of the bed, the gap can be provided correspondinglynon-centrally by appropriate positioning of the sub-frames whilst stillproviding the full gap necessary to accommodate the toilet receptacle.Whatever the patients position he is supported by the two mattresssections 13, 14 and not by the toilet receptacle.

We claim:

1. A bed comprising:

a main frame;

head-end, middle and foot-end mattress supports mounted end-to-end onsaid main frame;

said head-end support having its end nearer the middle support pivotallymounted on said main frame for adjustment of the angle of inclination ofsaid headend support;

a first g"ideway provided in said head-end support and extendinglengthwise thereof;

a second guideway provided in said main frame and disposed beneath saidfoot-end support, said second guideway extending lengthwise of said mainframe;

a guide element engaged in and movable along said second guideway;

a first lever having three pivot points arranged in the form of atriangle, said first lever being pivotally mounted on said main frame bya first of said pivot points thereof and having at a second of saidpivot points thereof a guide element engaged in the first said guideway;

a second lever to which said middle support is secured and which hasthree pivot points arranged in the form of a triangle, which pivotpoints are respectively connected to a first end of said foot-endsupport nearer said middle support, to the third of the pivot points ofsaid first lever at a location adjacent the said end of the head-endsupport nearer the middle support, and to said guide element which isengaged in said second guideway;

whereby said middle and foot-end supports and said second lever aremounted for movement lengthwise of said main frame in dependence on theangle of inclination of said head-end support;

a connection means between said main frame and a location on saidfoot-end support spaced away from said first end thereof, saidconnection means being operative for lowering the opposite end of saidfoot-end support on movement of said footend support lengthwise of thebed in a direction away from said middle support; and

means for locating said head-end support in selected positions ofinclination about its pivotal mounting on said main frame.

2. A bed as claimed in claim 1, wherein the middle support comprises abase member which is connected to said second lever, a pair of subframeswhich are mounted side by side on the base member and which are movablelaterally towards and away from each other into any one of at leastthree positions, whereby the sub-frames can be positioned to form a gapbetween them in any one of three positions transversely of the bed, andmeans for locating each of said subframes in each of its threepositions.

3. A bed as claimed in claim 1, wherein said connection means comprisesan inclined third guideway and an element movable along the guideway,which inclined guideway and element are connected one to the frame andthe other to said foot end support at said location.

4. A bed as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a third guidewayprovided in the main frame and extending lengthwise thereof, and an armmember which has one end pivotally attached to the first lever and whichhas at its other end a guide element engaged in and movable along thethird guideway, said means for 10- cating the head-end mattress supportin selected positions comprising an element fixed to the main frame andextending lengthwise thereof, said element having apertures at intervalsalong its length, a pin which is attached to said arm member adjacentsaid other end thereof and which is releasably engageable in any one ofsaid apertures, and a spring urging the pin into engagement with suchaperture.

5. A bed as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a counter-balancingspring operatively urging said headend mattress section support towardsan upright position.

1. A bed comprising: a main frame; head-end, middle and foot-endmattress supports mounted end-toend on said main frame; said head-endsupport having its end nearer the middle support pivotally mounted onsaid main frame for adjustment of the angle of inclination of saidhead-end support; a first guideway provided in said head-end support andextending lengthwise thereof; a second guideway provided in said mainframe and disposed beneath said foot-end support, said second guidewayextending lengthwise of said main frame; a guide element engaged in andmovable along said second guideway; a first lever having three pivotpoints arranged in the form of a triangle, said first lever beingpivotally mounted on said main frame by a first of said pivot pointsthereof and having at A second of said pivot points thereof a guideelement engaged in the first said guideway; a second lever to which saidmiddle support is secured and which has three pivot points arranged inthe form of a triangle, which pivot points are respectively connected toa first end of said foot-end support nearer said middle support, to thethird of the pivot points of said first lever at a location adjacent thesaid end of the head-end support nearer the middle support, and to saidguide element which is engaged in said second guideway; whereby saidmiddle and foot-end supports and said second lever are mounted formovement lengthwise of said main frame in dependence on the angle ofinclination of said head-end support; a connection means between saidmain frame and a location on said foot-end support spaced away from saidfirst end thereof, said connection means being operative for loweringthe opposite end of said foot-end support on movement of said foot-endsupport lengthwise of the bed in a direction away from said middlesupport; and means for locating said head-end support in selectedpositions of inclination about its pivotal mounting on said main frame.2. A bed as claimed in claim 1, wherein the middle support comprises abase member which is connected to said second lever, a pair of subframeswhich are mounted side by side on the base member and which are movablelaterally towards and away from each other into any one of at leastthree positions, whereby the sub-frames can be positioned to form a gapbetween them in any one of three positions transversely of the bed, andmeans for locating each of said sub-frames in each of its threepositions.
 3. A bed as claimed in claim 1, wherein said connection meanscomprises an inclined third guideway and an element movable along theguideway, which inclined guideway and element are connected one to theframe and the other to said foot end support at said location.
 4. A bedas claimed in claim 1, further comprising a third guideway provided inthe main frame and extending lengthwise thereof, and an arm member whichhas one end pivotally attached to the first lever and which has at itsother end a guide element engaged in and movable along the thirdguideway, said means for locating the head-end mattress support inselected positions comprising an element fixed to the main frame andextending lengthwise thereof, said element having apertures at intervalsalong its length, a pin which is attached to said arm member adjacentsaid other end thereof and which is releasably engageable in any one ofsaid apertures, and a spring urging the pin into engagement with suchaperture.
 5. A bed as claimed in claim 1, further comprising acounter-balancing spring operatively urging said head-end mattresssection support towards an upright position.